Recently out of a passion to have a shared workspace for entrepreneurs, innovators, and geeks in Toronto we ventured out and leased a great space at 364 Richmond St West (Richmond and Peter). We started working on it two months ago and lately have wondered when we will ever get finished. Today however the paint hit the walls and the place is beginning to look fantastic. It is basically about 2000 sq ft plus an additional mezzanine floor (the gallery). It is on the 5th floor (top floor) of an old brick and beam loft. The view of the city is outstanding and thankfully there is enough light to avoid florescent bulbs…

We know from the outset that this is not going to be a big earner but is more of a hub for creative people who want to make a difference in industry and within Toronto. This is one of the spaces that will allow some more jeans to be worn in the city.

Today I was chatting with Rob Hyndman, Stuart MacDonald, and David Crow - 3 guys who I have the utmost respect. All 3 gave me a lot of advice and shared the vision of what this could become. We want this to become a place where people not only use for a days work but a centre where great ideas and ventures are birthed. We want the new entrepreneurs and start-ups in the area to feel like it is a safe place and a home to hang their hat.

We are going to start gathering the members and the sponsors in December to kick this thing off officially late January. The official launch date will be announced soon. I just set up a community forum (a Ning Experiment) to start the conversation and to draw in those in the city who want to be part of this as it emerges.

So this is the official invitation to join up in the conversation or as a user to help us co-create a space we are all proud of. We are wide open to suggestions, ideas, and anything else you have to say (as long as you are decent).

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4 Responses to “Indoor Playground”

a friend of mine has a set up just like what you’re setting up in Vancouver - you might take a look and the website and get some ideas. I know that he did a lot of traveling around North America to get ideas from other shared working environments.

Wow this facility sounds fantastic. my own startup could definitely/desperately have made use of the facility like this when we were just starting out. But ARggn! help, explain yourself, you’ve gotten us excited then gone and left out almost every imaginably salient detail!

How does an entrepreneur take advantage the space?
do you need to sign up? do you need to apply?
what does it cost?
is this a for-profit venture, an institution? an association? where the heck did this come from?
is the vision for a drop-in space?, an event space? or permanent or semi-permanent space like an incubator? or some combination? did you just start painting the walls and you’ll figure it out later?
when can people use it? how can they use? how long can they use it for?

and what’s with the pdfs? so Many words of seeming profundity yet not really explaining anything about anything yet somehow up to 54(!) pages to not do so?

It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities and talents.
Eric Hoffer
Earlier this summer as I was touring Canada looking at the state of ea…

Thomas, my notifications were turned off on the creationstep site and I had no idea you had left a message. I will be better in the future. I hope that some of the questions are now answered on the http://ning.indoorplayground.com site. I just posted the pricing models on this site and also on the ning community. For some more info on me you can visit http://markdowds.typepad.com

Regarding the questions about if this is a for profit venture:
Answer is legally yes however we have launched into this with full knowledge that it is not really a money maker and that is not our focus. It just seemed the easiest way to get it rolling. It is more of a passion to support entrepreneurs.

Creationstep is an incubator focused on helping entrepreneurs be successful. We have set up Indoor Playground as a unique venture and one aspect of infrastructure to make things easier.

Regarding my PDF’s there are some rant ones and some technical ones. You can also go to http://www.brainpark.com and see some in flash. I chose to use the PDF’s as a feel for who we are emotionally and philosophically so that people can get a glimpse into our hearts as well as our minds.

Indoor Playground will open within 1 month and will be a social centre as well as a co-working space…we are really excited. I will be glad when it is all rolling.
Thanks again for your comments and questions